Oroville police assisted by armed citizens in two separate arrests in one night

OROVILLE -- Oroville police reported making eight arrests Friday night and Saturday morning, two with the assistance of citizens who held suspects at gunpoint.

The first of those two cases started at 8:12 p.m. Friday in the area of Washington Avenue and Yard Street, when officers tried to pull over a vehicle for an equipment violation.

The driver of the vehicle failed to yield, and after a chase of about a mile, he abandoned the car and took off running.

But when he entered the backyard of a home in the 2200 block of Park Avenue, the resident confronted him with a handgun and held the suspect at gunpoint until police arrived.

The suspect, Bradley P. Murray, 50, of Oroville, was already wanted on a felony warrant for violation of post-release supervision, according to a press release from Oroville police.

He was booked into Butte County Jail on the warrant and new charges of evading/resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving on a suspended license.

Then about 3:27 a.m. Saturday, officers were dispatched to a burglary in progress at Air Cooled Unlimited, 2816 Olive Hwy., where the business owner and an employee had a suspect at gunpoint.

The pair had camped out in the fenced back yard after several recent thefts. When Dillon J. Masterson, 24, of Oroville, allegedly cut through the chain-link fence to steal lawn mowers, he was confronted at gunpoint and held for police.

He was booked into the Butte County Jail on charges of theft, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of concentrated cannabis, possession of burglary tools and committing a felony while released on his own recognizance or bail.

Police also made an arrest for shoplifting and possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, four arrests for public intoxication; and arrested a juvenile for drug possession and resisting arrest.

The citizens who detained the two suspects with firearms will not face charges. They legally owned the guns and used them in defense of their own safety and property.

The busy night was a "Double up Friday," with four patrol officers and two sergeants until 2 a.m. Saturday, utilizing no overtime.